A Bell to Remember
by hlifehotdog
Summary: A short story based on the character Christina Bell from Arkham Knight. Takes place between her infection of Joker's blood and incarceration by Batman.


The Queen Industries building loomed above Christina Bell. Grey clouds silhouetted the towering skyscraper, darkening the already depressing structure. Occasional drops of rain thudded against her umbrella as she walked into the lobby. Her face twitched slightly as she entered through the revolving door. She rubbed her temples with one hand and sighed. She'd been having twitches ever since her miscarriage. Must be the stress she thought as she closed her umbrella and shook it dry. Maybe she shouldn't have come back to work so soon, but today was the monthly shareholder's meeting and her time off had already hurt her department's stats. She'd worked hard to put herself near the top of the food chain, and she'd sooner rip out their hearts than let those old bastards shunt her around. Christina was taken aback by her sudden violent thoughts.

"It's just stress," she muttered as she walked towards the security checkpoint.

She approached a turntable and placed her thumb onto a pad. As part of the security, all staff were required to sign in with a biometric scan before entering the building. The panel emitted an angry tone as it rejected her scan. Confused, she tried it again, only to receive another angry tone.

"Piece of shit," she fumed quietly, trying it again.

After the fifth attempt, the security guard at the desk noticed and called out to her. "Doesn't like you today Mrs Bell?" he smirked, pressing a button to unlock the turntable.

She angrily pushed though the turntable and approached the security desk. "Almost as much as I enjoy seeing your sad, sad face, Frank," she hissed.

The guard took the hint and quickly avoided eye contact. "Put your thumb on the pad there please Ma'am. I'll just check your biometric data."

She did so, and a few seconds later, a puzzled look crossed the guard's face. "That's unusual," he said. "Your biometrics don't match what we have on record."

"Well fix it, _Frank_ ," she spat as she turned and stormed away towards the elevator. Leaving the flabbergasted security guard to wipe the sweat from his brow.

Christina stared at her reflection in the golden chrome finish of the elevator as it ascended the skyscraper. She looked paler than usual. She examined her face and neck, noticing the paleness was confined to her face. Maybe she put on too much foundation, she thought. She smiled, happy to see she still had her stunning smile.

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. She walked past the workstations to her private office, receiving many curious looks from people. Her barely decorated office hadn't been touched in the few months she had been gone. She put the umbrella and her coat on a nearby stand and collected a small briefcase from under her desk. Checking the wall clock, she cursed again as the meeting she was supposed to be at would be starting in just a few minutes. Flustered, she swiftly walked back towards the elevator.

The meeting room was already busy by the time Christina got there. They hadn't started yet, but the room was buzzing with several conversations. Her entry had not gone unnoticed, and she strided confidently to her seat at the table. She stopped dead when she saw a familiar face sitting in her place talking to a woman sitting next to him.

"What are doing?" she said sternly.

Howard turned from his conversation and smiled. "Hello Christina" he said, unmoving.

"And why are you in my seat?" she retorted.

"Sorry Christina," he said, sounding entirely insincere. "There's another seat just there," pointing to an empty seat further down the table before resuming his conversation with their colleague.

"Get out of my chair," her pale face reddening with anger.

"Relax," he smiled, looking back at her. "You can find another seat. Go sit down, you don't look so good," he said, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.

By now, everyone in the room was looking at her. Her face twitched and she turned away to hide it. She saw the serving table which was set up with a range of small foodstuffs and she walked over to it. She pretended to examine the assortment of snacks as the twitching grew worse. Her gaze fell upon the array of silverware, specifically a small carving knife. A wave of pure calm washed over her. The twitching stopped, and her mouth turned into a wide twisted grin. She picked up the knife and walked to behind Howard.

Leaning down to talk into his ear, she raised the knife to his throat. "Chivalry is dead," she said gleefully as she drew the blade across his throat. His eyes went wide in horror as blood gushed from the new opening in his neck. He gurgled and spat blood as he suck down out of the chair and onto the floor. "And now, so are you," Christina chirped happily.

After a few moments of surprise and shock, the woman who had been sitting next to Howard screamed. Christina's attention snapped from the still twitching body to the woman, and then the rest of the room. All eyes of terror were on her, and the attention was glorious. With the widest grin, she lunged across the table at another fellow boardmember, knocking him back over in his chair. With a lightning fast movement, the blade sliced his throat open. Christina stood over her second kill and looked at one woman who was running for the door. With ferocious speed, Christina swooped towards the woman, running the blade over her throat and cutting it wide open. The woman dropped to her knees, hands clutching at her gushing neck. Turning back towards the rest of the crowd in the room, Christina's laughed as she licked the blood from the knife.

"Come on everybody! Smile! It's just a little game."

She walked casually to the nearest cowering board member, blood still dripping from the knife.

Shutting the boardroom door behind her, Christina walked down the hallway. People scattered when they saw her, hiding in cubicles and peering around corners. Her pink blouse was coated in blood and the bloodied knife was still in her hand. She walked towards the elevator in a haze, as if her mind was somewhere else. The elevator doors opened before she reached them and four security guards emerged, guns drawn.

"Drop it Mrs Bell!" one of the shouted.

This seemed to snap Christina out of her daydream. She looked down at the knife in her hand and dropped it on the ground before raising her hands above her head. Her face completely blank and devoid of any emotion or understanding. Two guards grabbed her arms and carried her into the elevator. They held so tightly it was painful. Once they were back down in the lobby, several police officers kept their weapons trained on her until she was cuffed.

"Christina Bell," a detective said as he approached her. "You are under arrest for the murder of eleven of your co-workers." He stood right in her face as she was held in place by two police officers. "Why did you do it?" he asked, his gruff face set with bewilderment. "Why did you carve their faces the way you did?"

Christina started laughing manically. Her laugh echoed through the lobby, sending shivers down the spine of everyone who could hear it.

"Can't anyone just take a joke?"


End file.
